Digital video recorders (“DVRs”) have become increasingly popular for the flexibility and capabilities offered to users in selecting and then recording video content such as that provided by cable and satellite television service companies. DVRs are consumer electronics devices that record or save television shows, movies, music, and pictures, for example, (collectively “multimedia”) to a hard disk in digital format. Since being introduced in the late 1990s, DVRs have steadily developed additional features and capabilities, such as the ability to record high definition television (“HDTV”) programming. DVRs are sometimes referred to as personal video recorders (“PVRs”).
DVRs allow the “time shifting” feature (traditionally enabled by a video cassette recorder or “VCR” where programming is recorded for later viewing) to be performed more conveniently, and also allow for special recording capabilities such as pausing live TV, fast forward and fast backward, instant replay of interesting scenes, and skipping advertising and commercials.
DVRs were first marketed as standalone consumer electronic devices. Currently, many satellite and cable service providers are incorporating DVR functionality directly into their set-top-boxes (“STBs”). As consumers become more aware of the flexibility and features offered by DVRs, they tend to consume more multimedia content. Thus, service providers often view DVR uptake by their customers as being desirable to support the sale of profitable services such as video on demand (“VOD”) and pay-per-view (“PPV”) programming.
A user most often controls a DVR by interacting with a remote control and a guide displayed on a television called an on-screen display (“OSD”). The OSD is typically used to support an electronic programming guide (“EPG”) with which menus are provided that allow the user to view a list of programs scheduled for the next few hours up to several days in advance. A typical EPG includes options to set configuration settings and user-preferences, order PPV and VOD programming, search for programs based on theme or category, and select recorded programs for playback, and set recordings for the future.
Once consumers begin using a DVR, the features and functionalities it provides are generally desired throughout the home. To meet this desire, networked DVR functionality has been developed which entails enabling a DVR to be accessed from multiple rooms in a home over a network. Such home networks often employ a single, large capacity DVR that is placed near the main television in the home. A series of smaller companion terminals, which are connected to other televisions, access the networked DVR over the typically existing coaxial cable in the home. These companion terminals enable users to see the DVR output, and to use the full range of DVR controls (pause, rewind, and fast-forward among them) on the remotely located televisions. In some instances, it is possible for example, to watch one DVR-recorded movie in the office while somebody else is watching a different DVR-recorded movie in the family room.
DVR-equipped STBs are often equipped with user-controllable features to restrict access to some recorded content. Such features are generally termed “parental controls” and typically include the capability to filter out, or block content from being played from the DVR in the STB. For example, a user may specify that programming be blocked according to channel, times and dates, title, TV rating, movie rating, and other factors. When enabling parental controls, a user enters a password (commonly, a four digit number) using a menu that is typically provided to access set up, user-preferences or configuration settings. The same password must be entered again at a later time to authenticate a user and provide permission to unblock the restricted content and allow it to be played from the DVR onto a television or other presentation display.
While DVR-equipped STBs generally perform satisfactorily, the simple password-based authentication in common is not very robust, and the password is prone to detection. For example, users often write passwords down to avoid forgetting them and may store them next to the STB. Or, a person may gain access to the password by looking over the shoulder of a user who is entering it.
In addition to gaining more secure implementation of parental control and program blocking features, users are increasingly desiring to gain flexibility beyond that provided by networked DVRs in order to have more choices as to where and when DVR-recorded content may be consumed.